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Brooke Astor’s Criminal Son Anthony Marshall Dead at 90, No Mention of Estate Looting

Roger Friedman
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Brooke Astor’s Criminal Son Anthony Marshall Dead at 90, No Mention of Estate Looting
Charlene Marshall put a paid obit in the NY Times this morning for her husband Tony Marshall, son of Brooke Astor. No mention of his conviction and jail sentence for looting his mother’s estate. I like the part about Charlene’s son, Robert, Marshall’s stepson, “with whom he formed an everlasting bond.” Really.Also no mention of Marshall’s sons Philip and Alec, who testified against him. Here it is in its entirety:
MARSHALL–Ambassador Anthony Dryden. A very great man has died today. Patterning his life after his beloved grandfather, General John H. Russell, 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Tony was first and always a Marine. Tony loved animals as much as people and was a talented wildlife photographer working for both for National Geographic magazine and World Books Encyclopedia in the 1950’s and 1960’s, an early conservationist, author of seven books and a highly respected three- time United States Ambassador. Tony very much loved his three stepchildren, Arden, Inness and Robert and three step-grandchildren James, Lyon and Weston who showered him with love, affection and respect particularly his stepson Robert with whom he formed an everlasting and most loving bond. During the course of his life, he helped countless young people get their own start in life by introducing them to those who could provide internships or jobs or sometimes he would write a check to tide one over until they could make it on their own. And then he relished in their success. Tony served his country all his life beginning as a young Marine leading his platoon onto Blue Beach on Iwo Jima earning him a Purple Heart, followed by a job as a decoder at the State Department, Consulate General to Turkey stationed in Istanbul, then 40+ years with the CIA and the U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar, the Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, and Kenya where he was beloved by President Kenyatta. Until his death, he remained a member of the prestigious Racquet & Tennis Club, The Brook, The Explorers’ Club and was Founding Chairman of the Marine Corps University Foundation as well as a recipient of the General John H. Russell Leadership Award. Tony had the tenderest of hearts, a brilliant mind and an outrageous sense of humor. It was my honor to love and be loved so tenderly by Tony for more than 25 years. Semper Fi my Tonyness,Your beloved Charlene

NY Film Critics: Boyhood Wins Best Picture, Director Linklater, Marion Cotillard, Patricia Arquette, Tim Spall, “Citizen Four” Snowden Movie, Wins for JK Simmons in “Whiplash,” “Lego Movie” and “Ida”

Roger Friedman
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NY Film Critics: Boyhood Wins Best Picture, Director Linklater, Marion Cotillard, Patricia Arquette, Tim Spall, “Citizen Four” Snowden Movie, Wins for JK Simmons in “Whiplash,” “Lego Movie” and “Ida”

The New York Film Critics Circle is voting right now for 2014 awards. So far Best Animation goes to “Lego Movie.” Foreign Film is “Ida.” Keep refreshing….this is an actual award, not the National Board of, er, Fans...Annie Schulhof’s politburo…

“Citizen Four ” about Edward Snowden has won Best Non Fiction Film. The doc by Laura Poitras has made $1.5 million at the box office so far. It’s from Radius-Weinstein company, as is another potential Oscar nominee, “Keep on Keepin’ On.”

BEST PICTURE-– “Boyhood”

BEST DIRECTOR-– RICHARD LINKLATER “BOYHOOD”

Best Actress-– Surprise! Marion Cotillard for “Two Days, One Night” and “The Immigrant’

Best Actor-– Timothy Spall as “Mr. Turner.” All that grunting paid off! Congrats!

Best Supporting Actor– is JK Simmons in “Whiplash.” Lovely choice! Well deserved!

Best Supporting Actress-– Patricia Arquette for “Boyhood.” She’s a slam dunk for the Oscar, kids.

Best Screenplay— Wes Anderson, the very charming “Grand Budapest Hotel.”

Best Cinematography: Darius Khondji for “The Immigrant” but also for “Magic in the Moonlight.”

Best First Feature— Jennifer Kent, “The Babadook”

Since we have to wait 10 minutes between votes, here’s a musical treat:

First Look: Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken” Joins the Oscar Race Big Time

Roger Friedman
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First Look: Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken” Joins the Oscar Race Big Time

Angelina Jolie’s second feature film as a director is a success. Unbroken, the story of real life Olympic hero and World War II star Louie Zamperini, isn’t perfect. But it’s a huge accomplishment that will attract a huge audience and lots of nominations. Main actor Jack O’Connell becomes an overnight sensation. There will also be lots of love for costars Domhall Gleason, Finn Wittrock, and Garrett Hedlund. Roger Deakins, as usual, shows he’s a master of cinematography.

Four major screenwriters wrestled this difficult story to the ground.  Sometimes their disparate voices show up  to different effect in the film’s at times uneven pace. Bu the whole thing works in the end.  There may be a bit of a hard sell on some points. This is a war movie, not Chariots of Fire.  There are some rough torture scenes of the US soldiers at the hands of their Japanese captors. But the edit I saw handled them pretty well.

Squeamish audience members will only have to look away a couple of times.  Those scenes are outweighed by some amazing aerial sequences, and Jolie’s extremely sure handling of Zamperini and fellow soldiers during their Olympic near death drift in a lifeboat on the Pacific Ocean.

One last word for now: some fans of the book worried that Zamperini’s religious beliefs would be diluted. They are not. Faith in god is clearly what got him through his ordeal.

Creed Singer Scott Stapp Snap: Drugs, Alcohol, Fractured Head, Suicide Attempt, Bad Songs

Roger Friedman
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Creed Singer Scott Stapp Snap: Drugs, Alcohol, Fractured Head, Suicide Attempt, Bad Songs

Once there was a time when an interminable record called “With Arms Wide Open” was on the radio day and night. Creed was the group, Scott Stapp was the singer. They had some more minor hits and faded away. Now Stapp is in the news again. He’s declared himself homeless and penniless despite having just finished a small solo tour. His wife put him in a psychiatric hold even though she’s apparently divorcing him.

Stapp– who reportedly has major drug and alcohol issues– tried to commit suicide in 2013 by throwing himself off a building. He fractured his skull. He wrote a book about the suicide attempt and being a Christian rock star. Then he made a video called “Slow Suicide”–name of a song, really — and re-enacted his hospital adventure.

Now Stapp is issuing bizarre videos on YouTube. He seems paranoid, although this is rock and roll– he’s probably owed a ton of money from someone. We do learn that Stapp’s son is named Jagger. But this shows no understanding of Mick Jagger, really. The biggest rock star in the world cuts bait and moves on. There’s none of this hand-wringing. Stapp’s next move would be to date Amanda Bynes (Just kidding!)

Here’s the hit. Creed will not be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, obviously.

Good Manners Matter: Judith Martin and Letitia Baldrige Have a Successor

Roger Friedman
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Good Manners Matter: Judith Martin and Letitia Baldrige Have a Successor

My old friend Norah Lawlor writes in a new book: “Why do manner matter? … In an era where a message placed online can be transmitted world-wide and where modern cities are cultural melting pots comprised of people from many different nationalities, all with their own customs, the opportunity for making social errors is multiplied many fold…Good individual etiquette has a role at the larger level of society—if we were to all practice good manners, would not the world simply be a nicer place?”

Norah’s foreword is to a book called “Manners That Matter Most: The Easy Guide to Etiquette at Home and in the World” (Hatherleigh Press). It’s by June Eding, who asked Norah, a prominent New York publicist, to write an introduction. She was the perfect choice. Norah comes from an old world family in Canada, “properly raised,” as my grandmother would say. Norah and her lovely sisters are all successes in the Lower 48, but with a price. I’ve often seen them gap mouthed, slack jawed or wide eyed at some of the coarse things that go on here. We ignore them, being New Yorkers or Los Angelenos, because we’ve seen everything. But not everyone does.

Norah concludes: Good manners are in short supply today, not necessarily because people are less courteous, but because sources of guidance that are relevant to modern lifestyles and language are harder to come by.” June Eding picks up where my late friend Letitia Baldrige, Judith Martin (Miss Manners), and Dorothea Johnson leave off. Before we head into the full on holiday season, “Manners That Matter Most” seems like more urgent reading than “Mockingjay Part 2” or “Twilight: the Return of the Vampires.” Even the latter need to know where to put a napkin!

Tom Cruise’s Scientology Leader: “We are Everywhere and Everyone…We are the rock and fortress of humanity”

Roger Friedman
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Tom Cruise’s Scientology Leader: “We are Everywhere and Everyone…We are the rock and fortress of humanity”

You can’t make this up. Former Scientologist turned critic Mike Rinder posted this speech on his website earlier. It’s Scientology chief David Miscavige’s speech at the closing of the recent 30th anniversary cult gala in the UK. Your friends Tom Cruise and John Travolta were in attendance.

Miscavige, whom Cruise reveres, told the audience “We are everywhere and everyone.” In italics. He also said “You are witnessing a space time continuum where clocks stand still, and production hits levels that are are almost supernatural.”

I’m disappointed to hear that it’s just ‘almost.’ I feel let down by this information.

Miscavige adds: “We are the rock and fortress of humanity.”

Did you know– this is true– the name of the mental hospital on “General Hospital” is the Miscavige Clinic? It’s not a coincidence.

cob-30th-ias-closing-remarks

Rupert Murdoch Defends Moses Movie Casting: “Since When Are Egyptians Not White?”

Roger Friedman
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Rupert Murdoch Defends Moses Movie Casting: “Since When Are Egyptians Not White?”

Rupert Murdoch took to Twitter tonight to defend 20th Century Fox’s new movie “Exodus” that casts Christian Bale as Moses, and a variety of white actors as Egyptians. There’s been scuffle on Twitter ever since Murdoch made his observations. And a lot of this stems from a quote director Ridley Scott gave Variety about why he didn’t use Egyptian or Arab actors for the film. He said: “I can’t mount a film of this budget, where I have to rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such,” Scott says. “I’m just not going to get it financed. So the question doesn’t even come up.”
The other main characters are played by Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro, and Aaron Paul. It’s a little odd that, according to the imdb, black actors only seem to be playing “lower class civilians and a thief. But this is Hollywood. And this from the same company that released “12 Years a Slave.”

Now here are Murdoch’s comments:

Downton Abbey Fans: Watch Lord Grantham Talk to Paddington Bear (Video)

Roger Friedman
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Downton Abbey Fans: Watch Lord Grantham Talk to Paddington Bear (Video)

“Paddington Bear” opened in the UK today to rave reviews. It opens here Christmas Day courtesy of Harvey Weinstein, who may have his biggest hit yet. The movie looks hilarious.

Check out this clip of Hugh Bonneville, aka Lord Grantham, chatting with the Bear. Maggie Smith never gave him this much trouble!

“Hunger Games: Mockingjay” Still Number 1, But 25% Behind “Catching Fire”

Roger Friedman
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“Hunger Games: Mockingjay” Still Number 1, But 25% Behind “Catching Fire”

Katniss and friends are still kicking ass at number 1, but not as much as they did last year. “Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” has a robust $168 million in the bank so far domestically. On Thanksgiving the third film in the series of four made $11 million– way more than anything else playing in a movie theater.

But by day 7 last year, “Catching Fire” was already at $222 million. The new movie is 25% off the pace of the last one, and the gap is widening. Still, no one associated with “The Hunger Games” is going hungry, or losing sleep, or worrying about their water bill. They’re just quietly preparing for next year’s finale and a hopeful return to form.

Star Wars: The Force Reawakens Trailer is Here! With John Williams Theme!

Roger Friedman
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Star Wars: The Force Reawakens Trailer is Here! With John Williams Theme!

John Williams! A baby R2D2– or something like it! Let’s go! I’ll say it– biggest movie of all time.

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